How to Hold a Golf Driver

Your grip on the driver is your only connection to the club that launches the golf ball, and getting it right is the first step toward long, straight drives. A good grip is the steering wheel for your golf shots, directly influencing power, accuracy, and your ability to hit the center of the clubface. This guide breaks down exactly how to hold your driver, step-by-step, to build a powerful and consistent foundation for your swing off the tee.

Good Golf Driver Begins with A Solid Grip

Unlike an iron, where you’re hitting down on the ball, the driver is all about launching it high by hitting the ball on the upswing. This fundamental difference means your driver setup and grip have a slightly different job to do. Your driver grip needs to promote speed and help you square a clubface that is traveling well over 100 miles per hour at impact. A small error in how you hold the club can be magnified into a big miss down the fairway, which is why a solid, repeatable grip is something every golfer needs to have.

Before we even put our hands on the club, we need a consistent starting point. Look at your driver grip. Most have a manufacturer's logo on the top. This is your guide. Your goal is to get that logo pointing directly to the sky when the clubface is perfectly square to your target line. If your grip is blank, use the leading edge of the driver face at the bottom. Rest the club on the ground and adjust it until that leading edge is perfectly perpendicular to where you want the ball to start. Getting this right from the beginning prevents you from building compensations into your grip and swing later on.

Putting It All Together: A Pro's Step-by-Step Guide

The Lead Hand: Your Control Center

For a right-handed golfer, the left hand is the lead hand. This hand is probably the most responsible for controlling the direction of the clubface throughout the swing. Don't make the common mistake of placing the grip in the palm of your hand like you would a baseball bat. That kills your ability to hinge your wrists correctly, which is a major source of clubhead speed.

Instead, your driver grip should rest primarily in the fingers of your lead hand. Let the club run diagonally from the base of your pinky finger across to the middle of your index finger. Once the fingers are wrapped around the shaft, you can then fold the fleshy part of your palm over the top of the grip. Approaching the club this way feels more natural and puts your hand in a position of strength and control.

Here are your checkpoints for the lead hand:

• See Two Knuckles: Look down at your grip. From your perspective, you should be able to clearly see the knuckles of your index and middle fingers. This is considered a "neutral" grip. If you can only see one knuckle, your grip is likely too "weak" and may cause you to leave the face open, resulting in a slice. If you see three or more knuckles, your grip is "strong" and might cause you to shut the face too quickly, leading to a hook. For many amateur golfers who battle a slice, moving to a slightly stronger grip (seeing 2.5 knuckles) can be a great adjustment to help square the clubface at impact.
• The "V" Points the Way: The "V" shape formed by your thumb and index finger should point roughly toward your right shoulder (for a right-handed player). If it’s pointing straight up at your chin, your hand has likely slipped into a weak position. If it’s pointing outside your shoulder, your grip has become too strong.

Getting this lead hand right is a huge part of the puzzle. It takes practice, and it will probably feel weird at first if you’re used to something else, but stick with it. It’s the baseline for a solid swing.

Your Trail Hand: The Supporting Partner

Now it’s time for the right hand (for a right-handed golfer). This hand shouldn’t sit directly on top of the grip. It works alongside your lead hand as a partner, not as a dominant force. As you bring your right hand to the club, the palm should face your target, feeling as if you're about to shake hands with the grip.

The goal is to cover your left thumb with the lifeline in the palm of your right hand. Let the fingers of your right hand then wrap around the club. Similar to the lead hand, the grip should be held more in the fingers than deep in the palm. This hand is a huge source of power, but only when it works together with the lead hand. A common fault is for the right hand to get too active and take over the swing, so remember that its job is to complete the unit, not command it.

The "V" checkpoint applies here, too. The V formed by your right thumb and index finger should point in a similar direction to the V on your left hand - up towards your right shoulder or chest area. This ensures your hands are working in concert and not fighting each other.

Connecting The Dots: Overlap vs. Interlock vd. Ten-Finger

You’ll hear a lot of debate about the best way to connect your hands: the Vardon (overlap), the Interlock, or the Ten-Finger (baseball) grip. Here’s the simple truth: there is no single "best" way. It comes down to what feels most comfortable and stable for you, allowing your hands to feel like a single, unified block.

• Overlap (Vardon): This is the most popular grip among professionals. You simply rest the pinky finger of your trail hand in the gap between the index and middle fingers of your lead hand. It promotes wrist mobility and is great for golfers with average to large hands.
• Interlock: With this grip, the pinky of your trail hand hooks together with the index finger of your lead hand. It’s famously used by players like Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. It creates a very secure feeling and can be an excellent choice for players with smaller hands who need that extra sense of connection.
• Ten-Finger: As the name suggests, all ten of your fingers are on the grip, with the pinky of your trail hand resting right next to the index finger of your lead hand. While less common, it’s a perfectly valid way to hold the club, especially for beginners, juniors, or players with joint pain who find the other grips uncomfortable.

Which one should you choose? Try all three on the driving range. One will almost certainly feel more natural and give you a sense of control without tension. The goal isn’t to copy your favorite tour pro, but to find the grip that allows you to consistently deliver the clubface back to the ball.

Finding the "Just Right" Amount of Grip Pressure

One of the biggest speed killers in the golf swing is too much grip pressure. Golfers often feel like they need to strangle the driver to hit it far, but the opposite is true. Excess tension in your hands travels up your forearms, into your shoulders, and restricts your ability to make a full, fluid backswing and release the club with speed.

Think of it on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is barely holding on and 10 is a white-knuckle death grip. Your grip pressure should feel like a 3 or 4 out of 10. You want to hold it firmly enough that the club won’t twist in your hands during the swing, but lightly enough that your wrists feel loose and can hinge freely. A popular analogy is to hold the driver like you would a tube of toothpaste - you want to hold on without any toothpaste squeezing out the top. A light, supple grip pressure is the engine of clubhead speed.

Final Thoughts

Building a correct and comfortable driver grip is foundational. It begins with squaring the clubface, setting your lead hand on in the fingers with two knuckles visible, and then adding your trail hand as a supportive partner. After you find the connection style and pressure that work for you, you’ll have a stable base that lets you swing freely and with power, turning a potential weakness into a major strength of your game.

We know translating tips from an article into real-feel on the course can be a challenge. That’s where technology can bridge the gap. With our app, Caddie AI, you can get instant feedback and personalized advice 24/7. So if you’ve adjusted your driver grip but still see that slice, you can either ask about other potential causes or a simple photo of your setup might reveal why. The guesswork is gone, allowing you to ask an expert anything about your swing mechanics or course strategy, right when you need it.